Moving Moments

When Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet Sara Mearns performs, she goes for broke, thus earning the nickname "Stage Animal" from famed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. The star ballerina shares how she found the bravery to advocate for herself as a student at School of American Ballet, climbing the ranks to become a principal ballerina, and the advice Suzanne Farrell gave her to best pr...

Living legend and Kennedy Center Honoree Carmen de Lavallade has had an accomplished career as a dancer, actor, and choreographer. She recalls growing up in East Los Angeles with her friend Alvin Ailey, the early dance classes they took with Lester Horton, and ultimately arriving in New York, where her career flourished. At the age of 92, Carmen continues to inspire and has some simple a...

Tony Award-winning Arab American choreographer Sonya Tayeh has a relentless drive, an abundance of ambition, and extraordinary talent. She discusses her roots as a teenager in the Detroit underground rave scene, her late arrival to dance, and how she catapulted to fame with her work on  So You Think You Can Dance . Sonya shares what draws her to new projects, why she fought for a versati...

One of the most acclaimed dancers of our time, Wendy Whelan had a distinguished career for three decades as Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet, before becoming the first female to take on a leadership role with the company as Associate Artistic Director. Wendy and Alicia reminisce about taking classes together at Steps on Broadway, discuss Wendy's early struggles to be cast in a wider array...

A new show from Artful Narratives Media featuring conversations with today's most accomplished artists from the dance world including Chloe Arnold, Misty Copeland, James Whiteside, Sonya Tayeh, and many more, hosted by Dean and Director of Dance at The Juilliard School Alicia Graf Mack. Episode one coming to your podcast feed on Wednesday, February 8th. Follow Moving Moments on Instagram . Follow...

Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre James Whiteside is unapologetically authentic and celebrated for doing the unthinkable. He talks about falling in love with ballet for the first time, becoming aware of his weaknesses and working to overcome them, and his "dream" workplace, American Ballet Theatre. James also lets Alicia in on the secrets to being a "Cindy."&nb...

Legendary dancer Misty Copeland is the first African American woman to be promoted to Principal in American Ballet Theatre's 75-year history. She shares how dance gave her a voice and provided the structure and discipline that she craved. Misty describes the high of a performance, how she broke into the commercial space, and life as a new mother, and shares her childhood nickna...

Emmy-nominated choreographer and internationally celebrated tap dancer Chloe Arnold epitomizes hard work and high energy. She catapulted her all-female tap-dancing group, the Syncopated Ladies, to the spotlight with their fierce rhythms, soulful grooves, viral videos, and a little help from Beyoncé. Chloe discusses how the movie  Tap inspired her as a child, the dance move...